The Princess and the Pirate
by MWPPMarauders
Summary: AU Lily and James story. Kind of a twist between Pirates of the carribean and harry potter. When Princess Lily is kidnaped by the pirates of The Godric she finds herself strangely attracted to a certain messy haired captain. rated M just in case
1. Invasion

Lily gazed at herself in the wall-length mirror, turning in different directions to survey her reflection. Her startling green eyes were gazing critically at her new dress, an emerald green bodice to match her eyes that expanded into a wide skirt at her hips. Locks of her curly auburn hair fell to her waist and swished as she spun in a circle. "Petty," she called to her sister, "What do you think of this dress?"

Petunia, Lily's older sister sighed exasperatedly, and removed herself from the comforting confines of her warm bed. Her pale face appeared just beyond Lily's in the mirror, wearing an irritated expression. "The dress is fine Lily," she said in a disdainful tone laced with jealously, "You know the only reason we're here is to buy a wedding dress for me and Vernon's wedding."

"Of course, Petty, how could I forget about you're engagement to that wonderful man," Lily said sarcastically, thinking of the fat Spanish Duke her sister was engaged to.

She knew all too well, the only reason her father, who also happened to the King of England, had let she and her sister out of sight (regardless of the fact that they had several guards keeping watch outside their room), was so that Petunia could look her best. After all, the two Princesses could easily be kidnapped by a commoner, or worse, a pirate, and held for ransom. The King had given strict orders that his daughters be accompanied by their respective bedchamber maids, and ten of the finest guards of the palace to a small and inconspicuous inn located just inside the skirts of Thames. Thames was a famous fashion port, known for its highly expensive stores and extravagantly dressed villagers. Originally the trip had been planned for just Petunia, but Lily had persuaded her father that her older sister would be safer with Lily by her side. Truth be told, Lily had no concern for her retched sister. She was just yearning for a chance to be outside the palace walls for once.

After deciding that the dress looked suitable on her, Lily sat beside her sister on the gold quilt and sighed. "I really wish you hadn't found your dress so quickly, I was looking forward to a little more adventure than just a day outside the palace," she said.

Petunia sneered making her already ugly face that much more unappealing, "You're so selfish Lily. Thousands of girls would kill to live a day in our shoes."

Lily looked at her sister with a hurt expression, and realized the truth of her words. After all, who wouldn't kill to be a princess? It was every girl's dream to dress up in beautiful dresses and attend gala's and balls. But princess life just wasn't for Lily. She hated the orderly fashion in which her day was conducted. Schedules were drawn up a week in advance, designating every hour of her life to a specific event. Then there was the matter of the retched corsets that squeezed at her ribs and hips painfully making it difficult to breathe. If that wasn't enough for her to hate, Lily's father had already decided who Lily's fiancé would be. He was the most despicable man she had ever laid eyes on. His hair was a greasy black mop that hung over his coal black eyes, and his smirk, oh, that smirk, how she would love more than anything to wipe it off his face. She had caught him more than once wearing that smirk while sweeping his eyes up and down her body in an intrusive manner. The only redeeming quality about him was his status; the heir to the throne of Spain. Since England and Spain were often engaged in conflicts, Lily's father had seized the chance to initiate an alliance between the two warring countries. The potential engagement would not be an option for Lily, it would be an order. She had no escape.

"You're not thinking of Snape again, are you?" Petunia said referring to the heir of Spain.

"You wouldn't be able to get the prospect of marrying him off your mind either if you were engaged to such a disgusting man," Lily retorted defensively.

Petunia opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the booming sound of cannons firing. A startled squeal emitted from Petunia's mouth and she grabbed onto her sister's arm in fright. Lily rolled her eyes at her sister's antics and pried Petunia's fingers off of her so that she could stand up. The sight that greeted her at the window was terrifying. A ship with sleek black sails bellowing ominously in the wind was docked at the port and firing at the village. Men were rushing into the streets brandishing swords, daggers, and pistols killing of people as they ran. At first sight it looked as if they were there to conquer the village of Thames. However, soon comprehension dawned on Lily as she took in the manner in which the men ran through the village, it wasn't in random directions, but rather in a solid line all heading for the same destination. The men weren't here to claim Thames as their own, they were here for something or someone.

A knock on the door broke Lily's gaze and she turned to face the opening door. One of the guards in his finely tailored red uniform met her eyes and nodded respectfully. "Sorry to intrude Miss Evans, but it appears that the village of Thames is under attack. The marauders (**I don't mean James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, I mean the actual noun, as in invaders)**are heading this way so we are setting out to head them off" he informed her.

Lily nodded briskly and returned her attention to the horrifying sight below her. Innocent villagers lay dead and abandoned in the streets, their cruel murderers nowhere in sight. No longer able to bear the sight before her she ran back over to the bed her sister was occupying and sat down. Petunia had crawled beneath the covers and was huddling beneath them as if doing so would make everything go back to normal. "We should have never come here," she moaned from her makeshift shelter, "It's all my fault. Now we're going to die because I needed a stupid wedding dress."

"You couldn't have known this would happen," Lily whispered soothingly, "We're going to be fine."

Unfortunately, no sooner had the words escaped her mouth, when a booming noise came from the inn below as the door was thrown off its hinges. Lily's eyes widened in terror at the noise and she looked at the lump of blankets that was her sister to see her reaction. Petunia began to shake violently and threw the blankets off of her to reveal her distressed appearance. Thick tears were flowing down her cheeks and her hair was thrown about in a messy disarray, "Lily what do we do?!" she yelled anxiously.

Emerald eyes scanned the room observantly searching for a place to hide. "Quick, Petunia hide in the closet by the window and don't make a sound."

Petunia didn't need further persuasion she scurried off to the closet Lily had specified and closed the doors once inside. As for Lily, she hurried to hide inside the small bathroom, and bolted the door. The sound of clinking swords and stamping feet met her ears and she waited with baited breath. She insinuated from the loud thuds that doors were being thrown open and rooms being searched. Screams of the inhabitants alerted her that her assumption was correct. Then, the sound of boots against the wooden floor came from just outside the door and the door to her room was thrown open. Fear clouded her mind as she realized how foolishly transparent her hiding spot was. She would be caught within seconds.

"This is definitely the room. The dresses in this wardrobe are way too expensive to belong to a commoner," a soft male voice mused.

The next voice was deeper and huskier than the first, "Well, then they've got to be in here somewhere."

In a sudden act that was both very noble and very stupid Lily threw open the door to the bathroom and stepped out. At the time she had thought that it was a very rational thing to do because if both the princesses were captured and killed their father would be devastated. Later, she realized just how rash and suicidal giving herself in had been. Two men of contrasting features whom Lily presumed the voices belonged to looked up alarmed at the sound of the door slamming against the wall. Once seeing that the cause of the noise had not been an armed man with the intention of killing them, their startled features relaxed. The man closest to Lily was wearing an amused grin as he looked over her. Though Lily's first instinct was to regard the intruders with disdain and loathing she couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. He had silky long black hair that swept over a pair of stormy grey eyes and wore a quite a tempting grin. The other man was less attractive, but handsome all the same, with light blonde hair and pale blue eyes. His expression was more gentle and reassuring. "Don't worry, we're not going to harm you," the blond spoke.

Lily was far too frightened to speak and simply nodded her head to show she understood. "Where is your sister?" the darker haired man demanded, his tone far less gentle than the other man's.

Realizing that she needed to speak in order to save Petunia Lily found her voice. "She's not here, she is on the way home as we speak, to inform our father of the happy discovery of the perfect wedding dress," Lily lied smoothly.

The dark haired man's amused expression turned indignant, "Peter swore to us they would both be here," he said to his companion his voice laced with anger.

"Well one princess should suffice wouldn't you say?" Remus reasoned rationally.

"Suffice for what?" Lily interrupted curiously and a little fearfully.

"Now, now, there's no need to fret. Ya just have to come quietly and as long as your daddy complies with our strict orders you will be back to the palace in no time," the dark haired man said in a tone Lily thought was intended to be soothing but came out more mockingly.

That sounded reasonable enough Lily decided as she nervously curled her fingers around the familiar golden key that hung from her neck on a delicate chain. "Hang on a minute, what's that you've got on your neck?" the more handsome man spoke again.

His friend looked at him quizzically before glancing at the key that hung by Lily's chest prompting his eyes to widen in awe. "It can't be," he murmured, "Where did you get it?"

Lily looked down at the key recalling the memory of how she'd gotten it out loud, "One evening when my father took me into town a pirate ship was pillaging the village. My father had run off to alert a commanding officer of the intruders when I saw this on the ground."

The two men glanced at each other briefly before looking back at Lily. "Well, you best be coming with us," the darker haired one said, seizing her arm suddenly, and leading her out of the room.

"We haven't formally introduced ourselves have we," the lighter hair one realized as they walked out, earning an astounded glance from his companion.

"We're not some proper nancy boy English men," the darker one reminded him chuckling.

Ignoring him the lighter man went on, "I'm Remus Lupin, second mate of _The Godric_ and that's Sirius Black, first mate."

Sirius scowled at his friend for introducing himself despite his complaints, and then grinned at Lily. "I also happen to be the most attractive of the crew," he informed her smugly.

Lily eyed him bewildered, what kind of capturers carried on this way to their victim? "Pleasure to meet you," she said, her manners kicking in despite the fact that these circumstances were under no definition pleasurable, "Lily Evans, though I presume you already know that."

Sirius and Remus chuckled, "Well aren't we cocky," Sirius teased.

Lily was affronted, she was certainly not cocky. In fact, most people of the palace had informed her she was rather humble for someone of her status and beauty. Then, regaining her sense, Lily remembered it was a pirate that she was speaking to and that there were worse things to worry about than her reputation. Like being killed, for instance.


	2. Bloody Pirates

**A/N: so I cant really be sure anyone is reading this, however if you are I know I am not the most consistent of updaters. And I'm sorry about that, but now that its winter break I have full confidence that I will be able to finish this story. =] please read&review**

**Disclaimer: None of this is mine. These lovely characters belong to JK Rowling, some of the plot to the Pirates of the Carribean. **

Lily's Point of View

I must be out of my mind. What girl in their right mind would willingly join two pirates on their journey back to their ship? Well, I guess it's not exactly willingly seeing as both men have swords displayed on their belts in clear view expressing a very clear message; follow or die. And maybe this isn't completely insane, they seem nice enough. In fact, both Sirius and Remus are extremely handsome. Just looking at the way Sirius' dark hair falls across his forehead, so sleek and elegant, it's hard to believe he's a pirate, the scum of England. Wait, did I just think that? What would my father say if he knew his precious princess (literally) was thinking these things about a criminal? I'd probably join the pirates in the gallows.

"Now, when you see the Captain don't be rude. You won't be harmed as long as you sit tight, and obey our commands, savvy?" Sirius asked, interrupting my thoughts.

A shiver ran up my spine as I digested his words. _The Captain._ I may not have a lot of spare time on my hands but I've heard my fair share of pirate stories. One things the same throughout, the captain is a tall gruesome man who spares none and has no pity for his victims. I shudder prompting a laugh from my companions. "Eh, Remus, did you see that? Someone's actually scared of James! He'll get a kick out of this," Sirius said through laughs.

"I'll have you know, Mr. Black, that I am not afraid of your commander. In fact, I feel sorry for him, and for you for having to resort to such low measures to make money," I said before realizing whom I was talking to and inwardly cringing.

Outwards, however, I remained calm and wore what I thought was a dignified expression on my face. Unfortunately, my only response was another bout of laughter. What kind of pirates were they anyway? Weren't they supposed to be mean and intimidating? Without thinking I voiced my thoughts out loud. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear in stories," Remus said with a small smile shaking his head. "But that doesn't mean all pirates are like us," he trailed off wearing a grim expression.

Curious. I'd have to get to the bottom of that later. If there was a later and I survive this kidnapping, that is. "Well here we are," Sirius announced gesturing grandly to the dock I hadn't realized we'd approached.

I followed his arms to see a sleek black ship, with even darker sails displaying a lion roaring as they billowed in the wind. For a pirate ship it was pretty nice. Grand, even, one might say. It's was roughly the size of your average ship, small enough so that it would travel fast, and big enough to carry enough people to form a crew. A flash of navy blue caught my eye standing out against the sea of black and I felt my eyes widen as I realized what I was seeing, a man was standing on top of the main mast, casually leaning against the pole. His hair was blowing wildly with the wind as he gazed out with a solemn look onto the sea below. As we came closer to the ship Sirius called up to the man startling him from his reverie. He looked down, spotted me, and gracefully climbed down from the mast. With a barely muffled gasp I took in his appearance up close. He was even more beautiful than Sirius, though he had the same dark hair it was in a messy wind-blown disarray unlike the manicured look of Sirius' and his eyes, instead of a deep gray, were a mystifying hazel. "Well, well, you must be Princess Lily," he said with a smirk.

James POV

If there's one thing I love more than the sea, it's the feeling of the wind blowing against my face and ruffling my hair as I lean against the main mast. The soothing breeze clears my head allowing me to think in peace away from the mindless chatter of my crew. From my position there now, I look down on the harsh yet beautiful sea below and ponder over my next move. Capturing the King's daughters was currently on my agenda, but how would one go about positioning a ransom note in his palace without risking one of my crew members? Perhaps I could hire a drunken fool to dispatch the message. The recently pillaged gold in my cabin should be a tempting incentive and Thames certainly has enough drunks out there what with the staggering amount of pubs. All they would have to do is find one of the many guards the King sent down with his precious daughters, if any were still alive, and hand them the note. Yes, this definitely could work.

My view of the endless blue sea was suddenly broken up by a flash of red against the dock. Immediately my eyes jumped to the cause of the disturbance and I realized it was the hair of a woman. She looked but eighteen, had an air of elegance about her, and was escorted by two men on either side. The corner of my lips curved up in a grin as I realized that the men were my mates Sirius and Remus and that this woman must be one of the Princesses. Quickly I racked my brain recalling what Remus had told me about the princesses. The one with vibrant red hair was named Lily Evans. But where was her sister? In a move I could perform in my sleep I shimmied down the mast and landed on the balls of my feet dropping just in front of the Princess and her escorts. "Well, well, you must be Princess Lily," I said feeling my lips curve into a familiar smirk.

My eyes trailed shamelessly across her figure and I noted how beautiful this girl before me was. Remus had of course told me of her good looks but I hadn't thought she could be this painfully attractive. There were no words to describe her. The combination of her auburn locks and startling emerald eyes against pale porcelain skin was very flattering indeed. I shook my head, reminding myself that I was _Captain _James Potter. Men nation-wide heard my name and trembled with fear. And to think I was swooning over a _girl, a _princess no less. "What of the other girl?" I inquired directing my question to my first mate and loyal friend, Sirius.

At this his eyes darkened considerably. "Peter seems to have slipped up on this one, mate. Apparently the other girl has left early to talk to their father," he told me.

Stupid Peter, always unreliable. That's why he was never assigned any important jobs. "I guess one girl will do," I said with a sigh noticing that a flash of emotion flickered across the girl's face.

Anger? Irritation? I couldn't quite place it. Not that I wanted to, anyway, I reminded myself. "Well welcome aboard Princess, I hope you find our ship… accommodating," I said clearing my thoughts.

Her lips turned down in a frown, "I find it hard to believe that any experience aboard a ship of felons will be even remotely positive," she answered, her tone condescending.

Ohh, feisty. My eyebrows raised on their own accord. "It's in your best interest to mind your manners and not insult the Captain," I informed her quite aware that my voice sounded arrogant.

At this the girl huffed indignantly her nose turning up slightly in the air and her eyes narrowing into slits. I smirked subconsciously taking a step forward so that when I talked I was breathing directly into her face. Leaning down so that my face was level with her, which took a lot of leaning to make my 6 foot form equal to her mere 5'4 petite frame, I looked her directly in the eye and said, "Enjoy your stay," before turning sharply on my heel and walking away. "Oh, and Remus, take a bag of the recently acquired gold and the note on my desk and give it to some random drunk. Instruct them to hand the note off to one of the Royal Guard and keep the gold for themselves," I added as an afterthought.

"By recently acquired you mean stolen," the Princess interrupted.

I turned to face her with one eyebrow raised in surprise. This girl just didn't give up. "You're aboard a pirate ship, aren't you?" was all I said.

Another emotion flickered across her face and this time I caught it; disgust. For a moment I was taken aback, who was she to judge me? Then I reminded myself it didn't matter what she thought. The King would pay her ransom and then she'd be gone.

Lily's POV

I followed Sirius down below the deck of the ship in a fit of rage. The captain may not have been what I feared but he wasn't certainly insufferable. The nerve of him to speak to me with such blatant disrespect was astounding. Though I guess I shouldn't expect a _pirate_ to know the rules of proper etiquette. Sirius kept looking back and sniggering at my enraged expression as he led me through the ship. I glared at him violently every time our eyes met before averting my gaze to the scenery around me. We passed a room of which the door hung ajar revealing several bunks and hammocks as well as wardrobes and cartons of rum. "Crew's bunk," Sirius informed me as he followed my gaze.

"All of you sleep in that tiny room?" I asked incredulously.

I couldn't imagine sleeping in such a crowded pace with that many people. The beds and hammocks were so closely together that surely the men's feet would dangle in each other's faces. Sirius, however, didn't seem to understand what was so shocking about their sleeping situation, and simply looked at me confused. "Aye, I'm part of the crew," he reminded me.

"People, no matter how low their social rank should not be forced to live in such despicable conditions," I told him watching as a grin spread across his handsome face.

He shook his head slightly causing his hair to flip up before falling back across his forehead. His grin was intoxicating. "Well, that can be one of the things you talk about with the King once you're happily reunited. I'm sure he will readily fix the living quarters of the pirates who kidnapped his daughter."

I laughed in spite of myself. Just picturing my father's expression as I pleaded for him to help my capturers was laughable. "Speaking of that reunion," I said, remembering my current predicament, "How exactly is my father going to pay a ransom when he does not who you are and where you're ship makes birth?"

"Easy," Sirius replied with that lazy smile of his, "Our note instructs the King to leave a chest of gold by this very port, within a week; we have lookouts who will of course manage to acquire the chest and know where we will be waiting for the gold. If all goes well we'll sail you back to your precious father."

I nodded showing my understanding and sighed. A week aboard this ship was certainly not going to be the experience of a life time. "Will I sleep with the crew?" I asked, hoping that his response would be negative.

"Course not, we're pirates but we have some sense of integrity, you'll sleep in this room over here," Sirius answered grabbing my arm lightly and pulling me into a room to the left of the crew's.

The room was roughly the size of my shoe closet back home, with just enough space to contain a thin cot with a tattered mattress, a wardrobe, and a small window. My eyes strained against the darkness of the room as the only source of lighting came from the small window and my nose wrinkled against the dank smell. Chuckling at my expression, Sirius left the room bidding me goodbye and closing the door. I plopped down on the bed in defeat taking in my surroundings for the next week with remorse. Why had I given myself up? The pirates would have caught me anyway but at least I would've had Petunia for company. I buried my head into the mattress and wept well deserved tears.

Several hours later I woke up to the sound of rustling outside my door and felt a strange feather material below my head. I opened one eye cautiously searching for the feathery texture and discovered it was a pillow. Hmm. That hadn't been there before. Sitting up I became aware of a warm blanket covering my legs. That hadn't been the before either. Someone must've put it there when I was asleep. I was strangely pleased that there was at least one nice person aboard this ship. The door opened noiselessly, abruptly snapping me out of my trance and I looked up to see who had entered. The lighter haired man who had found me before was smiling gently bearing a tray of food. After staring at him for a couple seconds I recalled his name was Remus. "Evening Miss Evans, I see you've awoken, I trust you slept well?" he spoke in soft soothing voice much unlike the raspy voice of a pirate I had imagined in my mind.

I smiled graciously at him and nodded, "It was very kind of you to bring me the blanket and pillow."

Remus returned the smile but shook his head, "That wasn't me; I'm not sure who it was. Probably the Captain when he was making his rounds," he informed me, "I've brought you food."

The Captain? James Potter? I found that highly doubtful that that retched man had brought me food. "Thank you," my manners kicked in once again.

Speculatively I eyed the tray he carried, dissatisfied with its contents. Their seemed to be a bottle of something, rum possibly, a stale piece of bread, and some sort of liquid in a bowl. Not wanting to seem rude I reached out and grasped the tray firmly pulling it onto my lap feigning delight. He watched me expectantly so I hesitantly picked up the piece of bread and nibbled on the end of it. I try to appear satisfied as my teeth met the crisp bread that tasted more like wood than food. Then I placed it back on the tray and pretended to smile contently. Remus chuckled at my falsified content and shook his head, "We pirates aren't the best of cooks," he said good naturedly.

The blatant use of the word pirate brought me back to my sense and with a sudden wave of fury I remembered that this man was one of my capturers. I didn't need to be polite to these people who robbed a wealthy man of their hard earned fortune killing them as they did so. "Yes well if you don't mind you can take this tray away as it won't be of any further use to me, Mr Lupin," I remarked coldly.

Remus was alarmed by my sudden frosty tone but nodded and with a quick, "As you wish," whisked it away. I scowled at his retreating back and flopped back onto my pillow burying my face into it. Remus was in fact a very nice man but it didn't excuse his career, if you could even call it that. Then I shut my eyes and let sleep overcome me once more. For three days I followed this similar pattern, refusing food viciously to anyone who brought it in and sleeping for days on end. All the while I wished whoever was bringing my ransom money would make haste. The sooner I was off this ship the better. But on the third day instead of Sirius coming in to deliver the expected tray of food, he came empty handed. I raised my eyebrow curiously and stared at him waiting for him to announce his purpose.

"You haven't eaten in four days," he informed me bluntly.

"Well, I had a bit of that cardboard, pardon me, _bread_ the first day," I retorted.

Sirius glared at me and shook his head, "Miss Evans, you're too skinny as is, you can't afford to not eat food."

"I daresay you're referring to that atrocious piece of bread and soup as food?" I questioned, though it came out as more of a statement.

Another glare was thrown in my direction. "Insult our meals all you like. I'm sorry the life of pirates doesn't live up to your expectations," he said coldly.

I stared back defiant not dignifying him with a response. His tone turned pleading, "Please Miss Evans, just eat something, anything. Eat me if you like!"

"As much as that offer is inviting," I responded sarcastically, "I feel much obliged to decline. Why do you care if I eat anyway?"

Sirius looked as if he was having an internal battle with himself. He was probably wondering why he cared. Then he shrugged and said, "Well you're father might not react to kindly if we return his daughter dead."

I nodded, of course they didn't care. They just needed to keep me healthy for their own selfish reasons. "Well then, you'd best be on your way Mr. Black."

He shook his head angrily, "The Captain thought the conversation might end like this, that's why he's instructed me to bring you this," he said, tossing a garment onto my bed, "And tell you that you'll be dining with him in his cabin tonight."

My eyebrows threatened to disappear into my hairline, "And why, Mr. Black, would I do as you say?"

Sirius smirked expecting my response, "If you don't you'll be dining with the crew, and you'll be naked." (A/N: Pirates of the Caribbean to anyone who didn't pick that up.)

I gaped at him in shock before angrily snatching up the garment and agreeing to meet the Captain later that night. As Sirius left the room I could've sworn he looked a little disappointed. Bloody Pirates.

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A/N: okay so not my best work but it's snowing right now so I'm a bit distracted. Longer Chapter next time I promise.


	3. Dinner, deals, and dashing pirates

**A/N: sorry for the delayyy I ended up having to make stuff for Christmas Eve. Happy Holidays Everyone! Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Usually I try my best to respond however this time I wasn't able to (two papers and two tests to study for really limits time) but next time I will as long as people review =]**

As the sun faded into the sky soon to be supplanted by the moon, Lily Evans found herself preparing for a dinner with the Captain of _The Godric_. Cautiously eyeing the garment that Sirius had given her earlier that day, Lily vaguely wondered how a ship of men had come to possess a women's garment. Then, with a sudden sense of disgust and remorse for the poor victim, she assumed it must've been stolen off of one of the ships they had raided in the past. To steal from a man was bad enough, but to do it in the presence of a lady was entirely different. She could only imagine the look of terror and utter helplessness upon the owner of this garment's face as a crew of pirates advance toward her. Then again, Lily had been witness to a similar advance from Sirius and Remus directed towards herself and it hadn't been as terrifying as the stories had made it up to be. Especially seeing as her capturers were incredibly attractive.

The garment that had inspired so much thought was strewn across her lap in a careless manner as Lily inspected it. She was contemplating refusing to put it on; after all she didn't know where it had been, however, fear of upsetting the Pirates and ultimately resulting in a painful death led her to the decision to put it on. She delicately undid the row of buttons joining the fabric together in the back and slipped out of the dress she was currently wearing. At the risk of one of the men walking in on her in nothing but her slip she quickly slide the garment, which turned out to be a dress, over her head. Upon contact with her skin, the navy blue color contrasted with her porcelain complexion while at the same time complimenting it, making her vivid red hair that much more stunning. Overall the garment looked fairly decent on her, though certainly not as beautiful as the typical dresses Lily wore within the palace. It consisted of a tight bodice that subtly dropped into a narrow skirt at her hips and fell to her feet which with the lack of proper shoes were bare. Though Lily still had the heels she'd been wearing at the time of her capture, she had decided to take them off when they'd begun to make painful indentations against her toes.

She had barely just buttoned the last button when the door was rudely thrown open revealing a man whom she had never seen before. He looked to be around her age, with a plump, short body, beady blue eyes, and sandy blonde hair. Nervously he stepped forward, bowing his head slightly and speaking in a rapid stuttering voice declared, "The C-Captain is requesting your presence y-your highness."

Lily smiled slightly at being labeled her proper title before addressing the stranger, "Well I'm afraid I don't know where his cabin is, would you be so kind as to show me the way Mr. –"

"P-Pettigrew," the man filled in, "The pleasure is mine."

He beckoned for her to follow him with a tiny hand motion before turning and exiting the room at a quick pace. Lily quickly followed suit and found herself climbing a set of stairs at a rapid pace to match his, before emerging on the main deck of the ship. They then turned a corner so that Lily now had a clear view of the deck's interior. The main deck was swamped with men going about their daily jobs pulling on complicated ropes and climbing the masts. Towards the front of the ship (port or bow I'm no good at ship talk) there was an elevated platform that could be reached by a short set of stairs. Upon the platform lay a huge wooden wheel that was being steered by Remus one of the men she had met earlier on before. Adjacent to the stairs there was a huge window that was covered with blinds and a mahogany colored door with a plate reading "Captain's Quarters".

"Well, well, look who has finally emerged from her cave," a cheeky voice called from behind her.

Lily whipped around to look into the mocking eyes of Sirius Black as he grinned broadly at her, seeming genuinely pleased to see her up and about. She returned his smile with a mocking smile of her own without realizing it and retorted, "Well I felt rather inclined to keep my clothes on and uphold my dignity."

"Ah yes, it's been a while since I have been in the presence of the wealthy. I forget about you women and your blessed morals," Sirius said seeming to reminisce about previous experiences.

The rotund man who had formerly introduced himself as Pettigrew chuckled appreciatively. "Probably would have done you well to remember that before attempting to shag that duchess last week, eh?" he teased.

Sirius joined in his laughter enthusiastically, "In my defense she blended in with the rest of the wenches. How was I to know that she was a married duchess?"

Lily couldn't help but smile at the playful banter between the two comrades earning an appreciative smile from Sirius; "You think that's funny, do you?" he asked pretending to be outraged.

"Very much so," she admitted feeling at ease with the two men despite their "occupations", "In fact, I recall the duchess of Northing shire just last Monday telling Petty and I about a retched man who tried to seduce her in a tavern."

Peter and Sirius laughed loudly at this, "Does she have small beady eyes and a huge mass of wild chestnut hair?" Peter inquired while Sirius discreetly muttered, "A very _attractive_ retched man."

Smiling at this very accurate description of the very unpleasant duchess whilst ignoring Sirius, Lily confirmed that she did indeed possess these unsightly attributes. At this, Sirius barked with laughter bearing an uncanny semblance to a dog and Peter's more timid giggles joined in. "What's so funny?" a confused voice asked, joining the little group.

The two men were too occupied with their laughter to respond and Lily just simply shook her head amusedly at a perplexed Remus Lupin. "Shouldn't you be with James?" he asked when he'd resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't getting an answer.

With these words the two previously laughing men sobered up. "Oh that's right, I'd nearly forgotten," Sirius recalled, "Right this way my lady," he said suavely to Lily.

She hesitantly approached the Captain's Quarters with her escort and watched nervously as he knocked, or rather pounded on the door. "Oy, prongsie, open up this door I've got your hostage," he demanded.

Lily blanched at his word choice. Hostage? It sounded rather crude when he said it that way, though it was an accurate word to describe her current predicament. The door creaked open and the handsome Captain stuck his head out. He smirked at a very disgruntled Sirius, "Keep your pants on mate, I was just adding finishing touches to the _map_," he explained, emphasizing the last word so his friend might remember what he was referring to.

Luckily Sirius was not at all daft and quickly picked up on the subtle hint. "Excellent," he said rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation, "We'll have to be looking at that later on."

James nodded briefly before directing his attention to Lily, "And so we meet again, princess," he said making her title sound more like an embarrassing childhood nickname than a title of respect, "Come on in."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Captain's Quarters was far nicer than Lily had imagined. When Sirius had informed her that she was to dine with the Captain in his cabin she had assumed it would be dingy cramped room with just one light shining over a small table about the size of a chessboard. On the contrary, the room she was seated in now was grander. There was a luscious red carpet covering the wooden floor of a mediocre size room. In the middle there was an average sized dark chestnut table covered with an assortment of food and surrounded by six chairs, one per end, and two on each side. Three of the four walls donned paintings and photographs of the sea and various ships while the third contained a huge window that overlooked the restless sea below. Positioned in between two paintings on one of the walls there was a door that no doubt led to the room in which the Captain slept. "I see you're living arrangements are more accommodating than the crews," Lily keenly observed from her position at the end of the table.

James quirked an eyebrow at her from across the table, "Did you expect otherwise? I was under the pretense that it's common for the Captain to have a way nicer abode than his employees."

Lily didn't miss a beat. "Au contraire, _Captain,"_ she argued adding a mocking tone to his title, "I beg to differ. While being the Captain does tend to prove beneficial in regard to living conditions the crew sleeps in an area not that much worse than the Captains."

It was true. Whenever Lily was forced on one of her father's sailing excursions, and there were quite a few over the years, she had seen where the crew slept and it usually was divided into several rooms with about four or five people to a room. "Ah, but you do admit that there is a difference in quality?" James implored disregarding Lily's point.

An exasperated sigh escaped Lily's lips as she wearily gave in, "I suppose so."

The Captain smiled smugly at his accomplishment and took a bite of chicken from his plate. After carefully chewing and swallowing he spoke again, "I often invite my mates up for a game of cards or dinner, I try to share the wealth as much as possible," he admitted.

Lily, who had been taking a sip of some surprisingly delicious red wine threatened to spit it out all over the table. From her initial meeting with the Captain she'd pegged him to be the type of person who though too highly of himself to think of others. Though I guess first impressions can be wrong, she thought. Instead of answering the Captain she simply helped herself to a piece of thankfully not stale bread unaware of warm hazel eyes intently watching her. James had just finished his meal and was occupying himself by observing the Princess as she set about finishing hers. He mentally ridiculed the tense way in which she went about eating, how she only took small portions of food at a time and only sipped her drink in small amounts. Her shoulders were squared and her back sat straight up a position that he deemed awkwardly stiff in comparison to his casual slouch.

"Feel free to relax and eat as much as you like, half the fun of eating is stuffing your face," he said, voicing his thoughts out loud.

He watched amused as Lily stiffened even further after his remark. "Pardon me for minding my manners," she remarked coldly.

If all princesses were this rude James was suddenly glad he had no association with the wealthy. "Manners are meaningless in here. Perhaps if you were in the presence of your precious fiancé Snape it would be necessary, but in the company of Pirates I assure you it's not," he continued on nonetheless.

Suddenly Lily's eyes turned cold and hardened into a fierce glare. "Snape is not my fiancé."

Curious, James thought, he would've thought a Princess would be dying to wed a rich Prince seeing as she couldn't take her father's place and rule as Queen of England. "Is he not? Remus informed me that he was." he asked curiously.

Forgetting that she hated this man and it didn't matter what he thought Lily felt oddly compelled to explain. She set the down the silver fork she'd unconsciously been impaling the chicken with on her discarded napkin. "My older sister Petunia, as I'm sure you know, is due to wed a duke in just a few weeks' time, so naturally my father was not satisfied. A duke is a very high honor, but my father had ambitious hopes for our potential husbands and he wanted at least one of his daughters to become a Queen. Also, Spain and England often feud over trivial issues so he thought it best I become betrothed to the heir of Spain. So technically yes, he is my fiancé but against my will."

"What a Prince isn't suitable for your expectations?" James teased.

"Regardless of his title he is the most disagreeable man I have ever had misfortune to lay my eyes on," Lily said.

James smiled a genuine smile at this. He himself had met the man face to face or rather sword to sword on one rather ambitious escapade. Sirius had the crazy idea of invading a ship clearly marked with the Spanish flag. It wasn't until they were bombarding the ship that they learned it was under the control of Prince Snape himself. As talented as James' crew was with a sword in hand they knew they could not conquer Snape with the army of men he was likely to have brought. Thus, they'd narrowly escaped, but somehow managed to sail away just in time. "I've met him myself, he's absolutely disgusting," James agreed wholeheartedly picturing the greasy haired prince in his mind.

Lily nodded enthusiastically, "Finally someone who sees sense!" she exclaimed, "Petunia always scolds me for complaining about the engagement. She doesn't see anything wrong with him!"

The Captain scoffed. "Lack of personal hygiene is a major flaw if you ask me."

His comment was met with a laugh, "You're telling me. Every time we meet he insists on kissing my hand, it takes all my willpower to not cringe. And to think soon he'll be my husband," she trailed off disgustedly.

"What did you do to make your father hate you?" James joked.

"I ask myself that every day," Lily replied in a solemn tone.

Lily was beginning to think she had misjudged the captain as the two continued their playful banter. However, all fun was quickly put to an end when Peter clumsily barged into the room, he had a habit of doing that, in search of a telescope. The princess went back to eating her meal and as soon as Peter left silence pierced the room once again. After several moments of quiet Lily finally asked a question that had been lingering in the back of her head for quite some time, "Have you seen this key before?" she said whilst holding up golden key that hung from her neck.

James' eyes swept over the key for a fraction of a second and for a minute it looked as if a sense of recognition passed in his eyes before he answered abruptly, "No."

Lily's eyes narrowed as she stared the pirate in question down as he stared defiantly back. "Funny, so I suppose your companions Sirius and Remus were simply mistaken?"

"It happens to the best of us," James said breaking eye contact.

"I'm inclined to believe you're lying," Lily decided.

"Well believe I'm lying all you want, but I am the captain of this ship and you have no business getting involved in my private affairs," the captain said, suddenly defensive, "You're just a silly little girl, don't pass judgments on me."

The sudden harsh tone in his voice took Lily for surprise. She stood up quickly her volume rising with her, "Who are you to speak to me in that tone as if I am some insolent little school girl."

James was on his feet now as well, "I'd watch what you say Miss Evans. While you're aboard my ship you're under my command."

"You're an arrogant, disgusting, repulsive, infuriating, pathetic excuse for a man," Lily said spitting out every word, "I'd take Snape over you any day."

She left the room without another word, not pausing to see James' reaction to her words. He was too confusing, one second they were laughing and beyond all reason sharing a moment, and the next he was the cold Captain she had first met. She wasn't too sure what she had been expecting anyway. He was rather civil for a _pirate. _

James stared at the door as it slammed back into place in shock. No one had ever spoken to him that way ever since he'd become Captain of this ship. Even the strongest of men cowered at his feet and yet miraculously this girl had managed to tell him off. He huffed angrily and stormed out of his dining area and onto the deck of the ship. His eyes scoured the surface quickly before spotting what he was searching for, his best mates Sirius and Remus. "Oi, Sirius and Remus, come have a look at the map in my office," he called too lazy to walk over to them.

His friends eyed him curiously and Sirius raised a brow, "Dinner over so soon?"

James avoided their curious gazes and simply headed back to his cabin satisfied to hear their footsteps following in his wake. Instead of stopping once inside his dining area he walked through the next door and into the room in which he slept. There was a messy four poster bed with scarlet covers strewn about opposite a chestnut colored desk and a matching chair. "Alright mates," he said, rubbing his hands together eagerly as Sirius had done before, "Let's take a look, shall we?"

Remus and Sirius readily agreed and perched on the edge of his desk as James pulled out a worn out parchment. It was folded in half drawing suspense as James opened it up to reveal a complicated picture with a huge red x drawn somewhere near the coast of Spain. "According to this map which I nicked off of Captain Malfoy, the Aztec gold is buried on a remote island near Spain," James explained pointing out the island.

Remus' eyes lit up and he jumped up excitedly, "It all makes sense now!" he exclaimed, "When Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztecs he eagerly went back to Spain with the piles of gold underneath the deck."

"But it never got back there?" Sirius told him, confused.

"Exactly, legend says that the ship was attacked when they nearly arrived to Spain. Luckily, one of the men of the ship had seen the invader ship coming ahead of time and had warned Cortes. Cortes and several of his men each took a lifeboat full of gold and sailed it to the nearest island where they allegedly buried it in some sort of cave. Before they left Cortes drew up a map which he tucked in his coat pocket."

James and Sirius looked at their friend in awe which quickly turned to exasperation. "If you knew all this before we could have been searching the islands near Spain a long time ago!" James said angrily.

Instead of answering Remus merely took on a guilty look and shrugged. "You don't want us to find the treasure," Sirius observed.

James simply looked at Remus like he had three heads, "Why the bloody hell not?"

"Well, also according to the legend..The treasures cursed. Apparently one ship, _The Black Pearl_ had found the treasure already and were dismayed to find that it made them immortal," Remus explained.

"That's ridiculous," James scoffed, though somewhere in his mind he knew Remus was almost never wrong.

"It's just what I heard mate."

"Well I for one say we find the treasure and see for ourselves," Sirius said.

"Here, here," James agreed leaving Remus no choice but to shrug warily.

"Lighten up, Remus if you're right you can say you told us so. Now who's up for some Rum?" Sirius asked.

The affirmative answer on that one was unanimous and the three managed to each down a bottle within minutes. Thus, Frank, the lookout, found them leaning against the wall belting out "A Pirate's Life for Me" in obnoxious tones. "Uh, sorry Captain, but there's a ship on the horizon and it's got British sails," the poor lookout said.

This snapped the three drunken men back into a somewhat sober state."What? How close is it?" the Captain asked anxiously.

"Not close enough, we needn't worry. But some of the men are thinking it's safer to dock at this port for a while just in case. We haven't spent to a pub for some time."

"What port?" James asked, he didn't want his precious ship docked at some port where the English often went.

"Saratoga, sir," Frank replied.

"Well then that seems reasonable enough. Set sail for the port, and make haste!" James commanded shortly before passing out.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Meanwhile Lily was sulking in her bed contemplating jumping overboard and swimming for shore. She had been aboard the ship for four days now and her father had yet to send the ransom money. She was beginning to think that maybe Petunia had convinced him that the family was better off without her anyway. Sighing and stretching her petite legs from underneath the covers, Lily reasoned with herself that she had only had a couple of swimming lessons and therefore would most likely end up drowning before she made it to shore. Perhaps in three days time I'll consider it again, Lily thought. Feeling the sudden need to walk around she threw off her covers and climbed out of bed. After running her fingers through her hair she made her way out of her small room and climbed the stairs to the main deck. The sight that greeted her was very strange. Men were running about frantically, one sandy haired man nearly knocking into her when he sprinted towards the wheel, as the ship neared a small dock. There was no sign of the Captain nor his first and second mate. Why were these men sailing unsupervised? Wasn't it customary for someone to be overseeing their duties in case of a mutiny?

"Excuse me, where's Captain Potter?" Lily asked a dark haired man with boyish features, he couldn't be older than her by a year.

The man abruptly stopped mid-sprint almost colliding with her as he did so. "Longbottom says he's in his Quarters passed out. Had a wee bit too much of rum," he informed her, his Scottish accent thick.

At this Lily rolled her eyes. "And why are we heading for land, do we need more provisions?"

"There was a British ship a ways back trailing us so we thought it best to avoid confrontation and spend a night at Saratoga instead," the Scott explained.

Lily's eyes lit up at this knowledge and the man alerted by this hurriedly shook his head, "You mustn't think of doing anything rash, I'll have to alert the Captain and he won't be happy."

"Captain Potter doesn't scare me."

"Be that as it may I'm sure you don't fancy spending the rest of your stay in the Briggs."

The man was right of course, Lily had never seen the briggs in this ship before but she had seen the briggs in her father's ship and it wasn't pretty. She didn't fancy sitting on a cold floor with smelly old prisoners until her father sent the ransom money. But that wouldn't be the case if she could escape. Thinking quick Lily thought of ways she could escape. There had to be a lifeboat somewhere on the ship, if she could manage to get one she could sneak out while the men were at port and reach the British ship. Or she could go to port with the men and hide somewhere until they left. The possibilities were endless. As she was immersed in deep thought, the man, suddenly apprehensive, hurriedly scurried off in direction of the Captain's Quarters. His flee went unnoticed by Lily as she planned out her escape.

"Captain Potter," the hesitant Scott's voice called hesitantly from outside the door to the Captain's Quarters.

A grumbling noise was the only response prompting the man to hesitantly open the door and peaked inside. Upon seeing that the dining hall was vacant he proceeded into the bedroom to find James, Remus, and Sirius sprawled across the floor in an awkward fashion. James opened an eye cautiously when he sensed movement. "What brings you here, Wood?"

Upon being addressed by the Captain, Wood found himself suddenly abashed, "Well, sir, I'm not sure if it's of upmost importance," he began.

"Well then why interrupt my sleep?" Sirius interrupted grouchily.

A rosy blush settled on Wood's cheeks, but James held up his hand, "Let the man speak."

Wood nodded graciously at his Captain, "Well you see the Princess, she's a very beautiful girl good choice, well she was asking me why we were headed for land. So I told her that we didn't want to get caught by the British ship and she got this look in her eye. I could be wrong mind you, but I think she may be planning an escape."

"Thank you Wood, I'll see to it that her plans are foiled," James said dismissing the man.

He knew that Wood had done well in informing him of this issue. Lily was a clever girl and no doubt had thought up a reasonable way to escape the ship. But how to stop it? If he ordered her to stay on the ship then she might use one of the lifeboats to sneak off but if she came with them she would no doubt manage to persuade a passerby to help her out. No, the best way would be to force her to stay on the ship. He would stay with her, just to make sure she didn't escape of course. Just as he had finishing deciding how to solve the problem Remus' voice broke his train of thought, "So what are you going to do mate?"

"I'll have to stay on the ship with her," he said voicing his decision.

Sirius' eyes widened at this and he shook his head, "Are you out of your mind? We haven't been at a Port in over a fortnight. Why not come to shore, bring the girl, and we'll get a round of drinks. She can't escape if me, you, and Remus are with her at all times."

James mulled this over in his mind. She was after all, just a girl; three well trained men were likely to win against her in a battle. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said finally.

Remus, always the cleverest of the group brought up a plausible point, "Why not bring in Miss Evans and tell her of her two options. We'll tell her if she wishes to go to port, that she must not make an effort to rebel or we'll kill her father. Threatening her family will no doubt give her reason to behave."

It was agreed upon that this seemed reasonable enough and so Lily was summoned once again to the Captain's abode. "I was told you were requesting my presence," Lily said as she stepped through the door.

Her eyebrows rose as she took in the careless manner in which the Captain and his mates were laying on the floor. "I hope you don't expect me to clean up this mess."

"Of course not your highness," said James mockingly, "A Princess doesn't clean up things, she has a maid do it for her. We have a proposition for you."

Her eyebrows which were already raised, threatened to blend into her hairline. "Do you now?"

"As Mr. Wood was so kind to inform you we will soon be making port at Saratoga. You can either stay aboard the ship under my supervision or come to port with us. The choice is yours."

All of it seemed too good to be true to Lily's ears. If she went to port she could easily escape and finally be home. "I'll come to port," she announced.

"I thought you'd say that. But if you come to port you must swear not to attempt an escape. If you do, there will be severe consequences."

It took all of Lily's self control not to snort, not only was it unbecoming but it probably wouldn't make Captain Potter feel obligated to allow her to come to port. "These consequences that you speak of," she said, "What are they?"

James looked at her, holding her gaze with an unwavering glare meant to be intimidating, "For one thing, you'll be moved into the briggs where you'll stay indefinitely," he said, "and we will kill your father," he added nonchalantly.

Lily knew better than to believe this. It would be impossible for a crew of Pirates to make it past the infinite security that the King was protected by. But permanent residence on the ship was rather unappealing. "I swear I won't make an escape," she promised.

She had expected James to agree once she'd given her promise but he seemed to be thinking it over. He glanced at Sirius and Remus who nodded in support but when he spoke it wasn't what everyone expected him to say. "You'll stay on the ship," he decided.

Lily gaped at him. Had she not just promised to do as he wished? "I beg your pardon," she said deciding she must have heard him wrong.

"Yeah what she said," Sirius agreed.

James glared at his mate before directing his gaze on Lily's. "I said, you'll stay on the ship."

Lily's confusion turned to anger. "I agreed to comply with your demands! Why must I stay aboard this dingy ship!?"

James was offended by her choice of words for he valued his ship. _The Godric _in his opinion was one of the most handsome ships he had ever laid eyes on. "Sorry if my decision isn't your liking _Princess,"_ he sneered, "You're not at the palace anymore. Daddy isn't here to make me do things your way."

Tears threatened to spill from Lily's eyes in her anger and embarrassment. He was carrying on as if she was some spoiled brat. Not trusting herself to speak without tears falling she stormed out of the room in a fit. Missing the interaction between the Captain and his mates that followed. Sirius and Remus rounded on James angrily. "You said you would come to Port with us," Sirius said angrily.

James shrugged, "Actually I didn't."

Sirius sputtered realizing this was indeed true and turned to Remus for support. Remus decided to take a kinder approach. "James, she gave her word that she wouldn't attempt an escape, why not let her come?"

The answer was simple enough, James thought. "She can't be trusted."

Remus shook his head, "She's given you no reason to prove she isn't."

James grinned at this knowing he could win this argument, "Aye, but she's given me no reason to prove otherwise."

Though Remus knew this was true he persisted further. "James, be reasonable. A night out on land won't do any harm."

Unfortunately, James was beyond reasoning at this point and simply shook his head. "Women cannot be trusted. You two of all people know this to be true. Or do you not remember Cecilia?"

At the mention of Cecilia both men blanched and looked away after giving James sympathetic glances. "You can't think every woman will be like her," Remus said quietly, but made no further attempt to sway his friend's decision.

Thunder boomed overhead and lightning flashed over the majestic Palace in London reflecting the King's mood perfectly. He sat in his throne room upon a scarlet velvet throne beside his beloved Queen and daughter Petunia. Kneeled before him was a messenger dressed in the official palace uniform of vivid red and black. Petunia was giving her father disrespectful sneers as he conversed with the man whilst the Queen simply looked on apathetic. While the King loved his other daughter Lily dearly, the Queen had always favored her eldest, and the eldest had no concern for her sister's well being at all. Perhaps this was because Lily was far more beautiful than Petunia had ever aspired to be or maybe because she was smarter as well. "Find me my daughter forget the money," the King was saying.

The messenger was looking at him sympathetically trying to help him see reason. "But Sir, the pirates will return your daughter if you simply comply with their wishes and submit the ransom."

"We cannot afford to sacrifice that amount of money," the King insisted stubbornly, "I will not reward my flower's capturers for stealing away my daughter. Send out a fleet of ships and bring her home."

The Queen rolled her eyes at her husband and shared an exasperated look with her daughter. "I beg your pardon your majesty but it's not that simple," the messenger went on, "We aren't sure what ship the pirates are sailing under and where the whereabouts of said ship are."

At this the King guffawed, "Captain James Potter signed the note himself. His name is known throughout the seven seas. Surely you have heard of him?"

The messenger nodded, "Aye, exactly. All his accomplishments seemed impossible feats. He stole 1,000 pounds right out from under the Spanish ambassador's nose, he tricked the French Fleet in to leaving him three ships and sailing all of their men back on a single ship and so much more."

"Captain Potter may have accomplished impressive things but he is a human and therefore he is vulnerable. We know he sails under _The Godric_. So find his ship and get my Lily home."

The messenger simply shook his head, "Sir, we don't know the location of his ship. Why not pay the ransom and when hide when their lookout comes to pick it up. We'll trail him to their ship and attack. Thus, we can get both the money and your daughter back," he proposed.

"Now _that_ is a reasonable idea," the King said smiling.

"So shall I send a word to the men to board a ship and set sail?" the messenger asked.

The King nodded in confirmation and watched satisfied as the messenger took off to do so. He was just about to turn to his Queen when the door of the palace hall opened once again revealing a man with greasy black hair, a crooked nose, and dark loathsome eyes. He approached the King without an escort and bowed respectfully. "Prince Snape," the King acknowledged.

"King Evans, I've received your letter informing me of my fiancé's capture," the greasy haired man began, "And I come here with a plan."

The King held up a hand signaling the prince to stop. "That's very kind of you, however, I've already sent out a ship to pay the ransom and then trail the person who receives it to the Pirate ship," he said smugly.

The Prince scoffed disdainfully. "And you think that will work?"

King Daniel Evans was taken aback and his speech faltered, "Well, er, yes I do. Do you have reason to believe it would not?"

"Are you aware of Potter's accomplishments? I have met him face to face and he managed to escape from my watchful eye. Do you really think one ship will manage to overtake Potter's crew? His men are all highly trained in combat and are ruthless. They will take no prisoners," Snape said.

"I assure you my men are just as well trained," the King said.

Snape shook his head, "You're men are trained in disciplined military style. Potter's are undisciplined, wild, and untamed, their style allows for more creativity, for more ways to kill. They will beat your men easily."

In his fear the King could not find himself to be offended. His expression turned into one of distress and he looked to the younger prince for help, "Well what am I to do? I've already sent out word to set sail!"

"Not to worry. I am prepared to set sail as well with a crew of my men whose expertise is fighting pirates. Together my ship and yours will ambush Potter's. He may be skilled but he can't take on the both of our ships at once," Snape explained.

The King looked at the prince quizzically and glanced to his wife for help. She merely shrugged and picked at her nails while Petunia settled back and closed her eyes. "What are your ulterior motives? Do you expect payment for this act of chivalry?"

"I'm hurt that you would think so low of me," Snape said in his monotone, failing to convey the supposed hurt he felt.

The King simply looked at him doubtfully.

"All I ask of is your daughter's hand in marriage," he continued on.

"You already have that," Daniel Evans said.

"Well that and a handsome dowry of course."

King Evan's eyes darkened considerably. "I should think an alliance between our two feuding countries would be more than enough."

"That war is between my father and you. I have neither involvement nor interest in your silly affairs," Snape said disdainfully.

"For now it is between the two of us, but what happens when your father dies? It will then be your problem."

Complete cockiness and the inability to admit he was wrong prevented the greasy haired man from agreeing. He simply took on a sneer and shook his head. "Still, its not enough. I need compensation for rescuing your daughter."

"You ask me to sacrifice my daughter to you and then further test my kindness by demanding payment?" the King asked, wanting clarity.

"That is correct."

"I'm sorry to say you're making me up to be much kinder than I really am," the King said not sounding sorry at all.

Snape simply shrugged, "Well I'll be taking my leave then," he said with a shrug before turning on his heel.

An internal battle commenced inside the King's mind as he debated letting Snape leave and calling him back. Finally, in favor of preventing the gruesome death of his men and getting his precious daughter back he called on the prince to return.

"Yes?" Snape asked pretending he wasn't sure why the King could possibly be requesting that he not leave.

"You have yourself an agreement. Name the price."

The corners of Snape's lips curled up in a twisted leer.

**A/N: Okay so I know this chapter was rather uneventful but the next one will be better I promise. Before I begin writing in would you rather it be narrated or in the point of view of james/lily? Let me know in a review please a =)**


	4. Remus' tale

**A/N:Okay I'm so sorry for the long wait but hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. R&R please =]**

The view from the Princess' miniscule window in her tiny room did not by any means compare to that of the view back at her home, but she couldn't help but enjoy the scenery of the waves gently crashing into it. It almost seemed humorous to Lily that even though she was being kept hostage she didn't feel anymore alone now than she did at the castle. Perhaps it was because the only person who she had an emotional connection to was her father and he being the King was usually occupied with more important ordeals than his younger daughter. Thus, Lily had always felt a bitter sense of loneliness throughout her life that wasn't at all intensified by her predicament. Be that as it may Lily still felt scared and defenseless on the ship, knowing it was not in a pirate's nature to be merciful. One wrong move and she could be dead, and with her temper and James' attitude it seemed a definite possibility that she would make a mistake.

Suddenly there was a soft rapping on her door, much lighter than the hard pounding she had become accustom to whilst on this ship. "Come in," Lily called softly not looking away from the window.

The ever handsome face of Remus Lupin peered in cautiously, and upon seeing Lily in a much calmer mood as of late he fully entered the room. "Princess, I'm terribly sorry about James' behavior earlier."

Lily finally looked away from the window and turned her attention to Remus. She couldn't help but wonder why such a nice man had chosen to become a pirate. "You needn't apologize for him. Potter is a grown man who is old enough to take responsibility for his own actions. If he feels no remorse for his rudeness than neither should you."

Remus bowed his head showing he understood and moved to sit next to Lily on the bed. "While I know this to be true, I can't help but feel the desire to explain. You see, James doesn't have the strongest trust in women," he said.

Lily looked at him curiously, "Is that so? And why, if it's not too much to ask, is that?"

An unexplainable sadness plagued Remus' face as he remembered what Cecilia had done to his good friend James, and although it had not been him he couldn't help but feel the grief he was sure James still felt to this day. "That's James' story to tell. All I can say is that one woman damaged his trust in all women indefinitely."

Unable to comprehend how one woman could do so much damage Lily shook her head. "Not all women are the same though," she said.

"Aye, but James was hurt pretty bad. He is in no condition to trust and take another chance," Remus said, "It's been three years since Cecilia and he hasn't been with a single women."

With her suitor's constant attempts at persuading her into marriage or for a date Lily could not imagine such a long period of time without a mate. She was but seventeen, eighteen in three days, yet ever since she had been 15 dukes, princes, and young men of noble descent had been vying for her affection. She hadn't realized she had a shocked look on her face until Remus chuckled. "Awfully long time isn't it?"

Lily nodded mutely, and wondered vaguely how old James was if he had already been in a serious relationship. She voiced her inquiry out loud.

"Sirius, James, and I are all 20," Remus explained, "James met Cecilia when he was 16 and it lasted about a year but that's all I'm telling you."

"Sixteen? That's awfully young," Lily commented, "Father says I ought to stay unmarried until 18 otherwise it may seem too improper."

"Pirates don't exactly have the same morals that you do," Remus said, before doing a double take, "Wait you're not even eighteen yet?"

Lily shook her head, "I turn eighteen in three days."

Suddenly the vulnerability that she had felt earlier on looking out her window returned. Though she was still quite alone in the castle, she longed to be within the palace walls again, where everything was safe and danger free. Especially now with the mention of her birthday. For every birthday, the King threw his daughters the most exquisite birthday balls ever. Anyone who had a place in high society attended dressed in their formal wear. She could only imagine what theme her father's hired help, Maurice, would cook up this time. Maurice was a French man who excelled in fashion and knew everything and anything there was too know involving what was in style. One of his more prominent talents was designing and planning formal events. So naturally, King Daniel hired Maurice to plan Lily's and Petunia's annual birthday balls. Last year the theme had been winter wonderland, a perfect fit as Lily's birthday was in January.

Remus seemed to sense Lily's sudden heartache and longing for home.

"Don't worry you're pretty little head. You'll be home before you know it," he assured her.

At first Lily was startled by his words as she had been absorbed in memories but soon a smile slowly crept onto her face. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she wondered out loud, "Aren't you supposed to be mean to your hostages?"

"Aye, but you're not our regular type of hostage. James doesn't like to take people aboard the ship who aren't among the crew unless their ship is sinking. Then he takes them aboard if he deems them worthy and allows them a safe passage to the nearest coast. Unfortunately for you, you're presence on the ship may very well make us rich. It goes against even a pirate's code to take a women on board, but the benefits of doing so were too tempting."

"What happens to the men Captain Potter deems unworthy?" Lily asked fearfully, ignoring the bit about her.

Remus looked away from her scrutinizing emerald eyes. "They're killed, or they drown."

Her shoulders shook and Lily found sudden interest in her hands that were rested on her lap. "What an awful way to die," she said.

Her companion was struck by the weakness she was showing now as she sat next to him on her bed shoulders hunched and expression sad. Suddenly she seemed like a scared child lost in a crowd of strangers. It was very much different from the cool and collected Princess Lily he had seen before when she'd bit James' head off for refusing to allow her on land. He was unsure whether or not to make an effort to comfort her or not, but decided against it. The absence of women in his life for the past three years had made it increasingly hard to get in touch with his emotional side. He wouldn't even know how to go about offering comfort. Instead he resulted to just agreeing with her words.

"Indeed," he said simply.

"Can I ask you something?" Lily suddenly asked, looking up from her perfectly manicured hands at last.

He nodded in response.

"Have you always been a pirate? What made you decide to be one? And why this ship? How did you meet James?" she asked, her one question turning into a bunch as her thoughts all spilled out at once.

Remus looked amused at her sudden outburst of curiosity. "When you asked my permission to ask a question I thought it would be a single question not several," he said jokingly.

Lily blushed prettily and shrugged embarrassed, "You don't have to answer. I'm not sure what got into me. My etiquette teacher always said it's not a lady's place to question a man."

"Your etiquette teacher is full of shit. A lady has every right to ask question and I'll answer all of yours. Just give me a moment to compose my thoughts."

Noticing that Remus seemed to speak like a proper man, despite the thin coating of harshness and occasional swearing, Lily wondered if Remus had once been a man of society. After a few minutes of contemplating Remus sighed and finally spoke.

"So as for your first question, I wasn't always a pirate. I was the son of two average people in society raised with morals much like your own. But when I was twelve Riddle, a serial killer, took both my parents lives and I was left an orphan. Coincidentally a crew of pirates swept into my village later that week and I seized the opportunity to join their ranks. It was either that or death," he explained.

His audience nodded sympathetically, "I'm sorry about your parents."

Remus nodded and continued on, "I believe that answers your question as to my incentive to become a pirate as well, does it not?"

"Very adequately so," Lily responded.

"Okay, now onto James. I met him after his whole er- _situation_ with Cecilia. He was sailing a ship with only the company of Sirius, an amazing feat if you think about it. It normally takes at least six men to get a ship started; I'm not really sure how he did it. I'm almost positive he commandeered the ship though he did say it was his. Anyway, so I was alone on the pirate ship I'd come to call my home when I saw his ship on the horizon. Soon he approached me and asked me to join his crew promising better conditions and less cruelty to other men. I willingly obliged and ever since I've been sailing with him."  
Lily took it all in with surprising acceptance. She didn't criticize his decisions as Remus had assumed she would. "So what age were you when that happened?"

"Seventeen," answered simply, "We've been the best of mates ever since."

"So Sirius and James had been mates since before then?"

"Yes, now I have a question for you of my own," Remus said.

"Ask away," was the answer.

Remus nodded and a smirk slid onto his face as he spoke, "Why the sudden interest in my and James' life? Have you taken a fancy to our precious Captain?"

In a very unlady-like gesture, Lily punched him on the shoulder playfully. "I'm not really sure why I'm so interested to be honest," she replied, "Maybe because I'm fascinated by your way of life. But I most definitely do not fancy that terrible man."

The playful mood suddenly darkened. "James is by no means a terrible man. He's scarred, but he has done a lot for me and for that I am forever grateful," Remus said.

Lily flinched away from his sudden anger, "Sorry."

Upon seeing her fear return Remus softened, "It's okay, you have a right to be mad. We are holding you hostage after all."

A simple nod from the red haired girl followed his words. "Well, I just came here to apologize on James' behalf, and I see now that my words will go to waste. It was nice talking to you though, Princess. It's interesting to see that royalty are more than just the disciplined heartless people they appear to be to those below them in rank," Remus explained.

Lily smiled not at all offended by his last words. She knew all too well what she and her family came off as to people who didn't know them. And who was really blaming them? The way her etiquette teacher and father had her behaving in front of a crowd; cold and distant, only encouraged the negative reaction. She watched Remus' retreating back with thoughts of her life and a newfound disdain for her lifestyle. Here she was acting so condescending towards pirates, who had actually been quite nice to her considering the circumstances, and yet she herself acted with a despicable attitude towards people.

Later that night Lily felt the need to stretch her legs. Climbing out of the bed she'd claimed for the past couple of days, she brushed her hair with her fingers and rubbed her eyes. After a lot of wishing she had something to groom herself with and a change of clothes, Lily resigned herself to the fact that she'd be living like this for at least a little longer. The walk to the main deck was as short as always and upon the arrival of her destination Lily was exceedingly glad she had decided to come up. The ship was only a few meters away from a dock, presumably that of Saratoga. There was a distinct feeling of excitement in the air as they approached land, it had been awhile since these man had been at land.

"Why hello Princess," came a husky voice from behind her.

Lily's hair whipped around as she turned to see who the voice belonged to. Her alarmed expression relaxed into one of ease as she took in the tall, dark, and handsome appearance of Sirius Black.

"Mr. Black," she said formally with a nod of her head.

Sirius chuckled loudly at the formality. "Mark my words Lily, by the end of your stay you'll have loosened up a bit."

This confused Lily a great deal. "I wasn't aware I needed…er, loosening," she said.

Another chuckled erupted from Sirius mouth. "You talk so formally," he answered simply.

"Well of course I do, it's in my upbringing to do so," Lily said, relieved it was only her speech he was referring to.

"Yes, that much I figured but it's got to get old having to be so uptight and formal all the time."

Sirius had been expecting Lily to take offense to this, but much to his surprise and delight she did not. "Well, it doesn't really," she replied, "I could see how you might think that. But it's a habit by now and I wouldn't know how to go about changing it."

Sirius cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "Well just being around here with people who can barely form full sentences and speak proper English should help. But I suppose calling people by their first names would help."

This seemed utterly shocking to Lily. "Calling people by their first names without being intimate?"

"Er- yes?" Sirius said, thought he sounded rather unsure of himself, "Why is that such a big deal?"

"In high society everyone must be referred to by their proper title."

"Proper title? What would you consider a proper title?" Sirius asked.

Lily shook her head smiling as if that should be obvious, "Well you don't have a formal title so you would be referred to as Mister Black. Women in a likewise situation would be Miss or Mrs. Proper titles are for dukes, duchesses, princes, kings, and anyone with a higher status. You'd refer to my father as King Evans or Your Majesty, and maybe even Your Highness."

That seemed retarded to Sirius. "Okay, but while you're on this ship screw titles and formalities. Call me Sirius and anyone else you meet by their first name. You don't need to know them personally to use first names."

"Okay," Lily agreed and then added as an afterthought, "Sirius."

He grinned wildly at this and clapped her on the back, "There you go! Not so hard now, is it?"

Lily simply shook her and smiled while Sirius walked past her and disappeared into the crowd of excited men.

"Princess! James is looking for you, probably to make sure you don't jump overboard while were this close to sure," another familiar voice called.

Lily didn't need to turn around to see who this voice belonged to; she already knew it was Remus. "Oh hello, Remus, I guess I'll try and make it as hard as possible for him to find me then," she said, smiling inwardly at the chance to spite the disagreeable captain.

Remus seemed almost surprised at being addressed by his first name, but then shrugged and laughed. "Don't go causing trouble Miss Lily, the Captain isn't too fun to be around when he's irritated," Remus scolded.

The Princess merely shrugged in response and skipped off before she, too, disappeared into the crowd leaving a disapproving Remus in her wake. He smiled to himself knowing Lily's dark auburn hair was too unique and vibrant to blend in completely. James would be able to find her within seconds.

Not long after a very disgruntled Captain emerged from his cabin in search of a red haired maiden. He was only searching for a couple minutes before he spotted his target with one elbow propped up against the edge of the ship and her chin rested on her palm. She seemed to be gazing into the sea contently as men joyously moved around her excited to be so close to the port. He strided determinedly towards her with a cold expression on his face. Once he was directly behind her he halted and spoke.

"Miss Evans, you'll be needing to stay in my cabin during the duration of this trip to so I can keep an eye on you."

The auburn haired girl turned around and glared at him.

"I'm not a three year old, I don't need your supervision," she snapped.

He stared just as angrily back at her his jaw set into a grimace.

"That's your opinion. While you may not look like a three year old, you certainly behave like one," he retorted.

Lily continued to glare at him fiercely trying to conceal the fear she felt about being alone with him. His outburst earlier before had scared her and she didn't want to be on the end of his wrath.

"Well I guess that's _your_ opinion," she said simply.

James didn't respond but simply gestured for her to walk to the cabin. She did as told and walked fast towards the door to his quarter with James at her heels. Once she reached it she came to an abrupt stop causing James to nearly knock her over.

"Watch it," he said irritably.

"Did you want me to continue walking and crash into the door?" she responded.

"Of course not, wouldn't want to damage your pretty little face," said James.

Lily huffed angrily and crossed her arms over her chest. James couldn't help but think she looked incredibly cute while doing so. A fraction of a second after that thought passed through his mind he quickly shook it off and reprimanded himself for thinking that.

"Well, are we going to stand here all day or are you going to open the door?" Lily asked.

James was confused. "What you don't have the capability of opening the door yourself?"

"Well, actually, no I don't," Lily said.

At this James was even more confused. Sensing his confusion Lily went on.

"You've locked the door."

"Oh," was all James could think to say as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze key.

He fumbled with the lock briefly before it finally turned and the door swung open. "Ladies first," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Lily sighed, this was going to be a long day.


End file.
